


One Good Thing

by Nigaki



Series: Wild and Soft [11]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alpha Arthur Morgan, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Breastfeeding, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Gang as Family, Intersex John Marston, Kissing, Lullabies, M/M, Men Crying, Omega John Marston, Parenthood, Pre-Canon, Pregnancy Scares, Protective Parents, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25974967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigaki/pseuds/Nigaki
Summary: Arthur and John are overhelmed with love after the birth of their first child - Jack.
Relationships: John Marston/Arthur Morgan
Series: Wild and Soft [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687138
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	One Good Thing

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to The One Thing by Shakira way too much while writing this and it shows. Even the title is inspired by it.

Arthur walked around inside their tent, a bundle of joy in his arms, tucked safely in one of his shirts.

His son.

He had a son and he was so tiny and delicate and so perfect. Arthur couldn’t stop looking at him, at his small nose, soft cheeks, slightly parted pink lips or tiny fingers grasping the material of the shirt tightly. He was perfect and Arthur couldn’t believe he was finally here. After five months of waiting, some part of which not even being sure if they wanted to be parents, he was with them and they would never let him go.

Arthur already swore to protect him with his life if it would even come to that. He would never let anyone harm their boy.

It felt so unreal to hold him, to see him. He never thought he would ever be a father, he was sure a man like him didn’t deserve something so precious. He was a bad, dangerous man who should be kept away from any children. His hands were made for killing but now he was using them to hold this tiny baby, barely bigger than both of his palms and it felt so right to do it.

He felt tears in his eyes looking at his son. He was never the first to cry but he was crying almost all the time since this little guy arrived, in the outlaw’s camp of all places. He was just so happy. He was already happy with John and their family, life was good to them but it became even better with Jack. He brightened it up better than the sun and made Arthur’s heart soar. It was still beating fast after he first laid his eyes on the boy, he was actually getting worried it’s unhealthy and it would end badly but it just couldn’t slow down, he was still too excited.

Even if he didn’t deserve this much joy, to be a parent, he was never going to let go now. Not when he already tasted how great it is to be a father. And he was going to be a better one that his own. He would love Jack forever and unconditionally, no matter what. 

And he only knew the boy for three hours.

John was still sleeping, exhausted after the birth, he barely moved since he fell asleep. Arthur watched him regularly, to make sure he was still okay. The screams from earlier scared him, he knew they were natural during birth, it was a lot of pain after all, but it could’ve gone wrong at any moment and he would’ve only had his son right now, or no one at all. John survived, he did good and now was just resting, but Arthur was still worried. He would be till he would see John back on his feet again. Till then, he was ready for anything but that didn’t stop him from enjoying their first born.

Jack was healthy too. He ate and cried like any baby and now was still napping, probably as exhausted by the birth like his Pa.

Pa. It suited John.

Arthur looked at his mate again and came closer. He brushed the hair from omega’s cheek and gently rubbed at his lips that opened for him when John sighed, sinking deeper into the pillow and pile of their clothes.

After pulling the blanket tighter around omega’s naked body, Arthur returned to walking around, gently rocking the baby in his arms and humming a little lullaby to him. He only ever knew sea shanties and songs sung by cowboys, miners or just old drunks in small towns but about a month before the birth, he started learning nursery rhymes. He wasn’t good at singing, he had a bad memory for words and even after studying various nursery rhymes for a month, he still couldn’t sing them perfectly. But he didn’t care, because he had someone to sing them for and that was what mattered to him the most.

“Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night, sailed off in a wooden shoe. Sailed on a river of crystal light, into a sea of dew.” He just hummed for the next part, already forgetting words but Jack didn’t mind, he was still sleeping and looked like he didn’t want to be anywhere else but in his Daddy’s arms. “Mhm…beautiful sea, nets of silver and gold have we, said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.”

And back to humming. Hopefully Jack would never call him a bad father for that.

“You should sing more often,” a hoarse voice spoke behind him, quietly.

Arthur turned to John whose eyes were open and full of affection when he was looking at his alpha and the child.

“I wasn’t singing,” Arthur said with a smile and returned to bed. “I was humming.”

“I heard those few words.” John weakly raised himself, groaning with pain when he moved to sit against the pillow. Arthur wanted to help but his hands were full so he could only place one on John’s shoulder, showing his comfort. When omega stilled and the pain let go, he looked at their baby again. “How is he?”

“Good,” Arthur answered happily. He wanted Jack to be this content for the rest of his life, to never experience any pain. He knew it was impossible but a father could dream. “He slept… well, like a baby.”

They both chuckled.

“Can you give him to me?” John asked, already stretching his arms.

Arthur cuddled the baby closer to his chest and grinned. “No, you had him for nine months, I want to hold him now.” John gave him a tired stare and Arthur chuckled again. “Here you go, go to Pa, love.”

He placed Jack in John’s outstretched arms, making sure he wouldn’t drop him but the nap John took clearly helped him regain some strength because his hands didn’t even shake when he cradled the baby to himself, looking at the bundle with adoration. Softly, he touched Jack’s nose that wrinkled at the touch. John smiled and the tears gathered in his eyes.

“Yesterday I didn’t even know how to hold a baby and now I want to hold him forever,” he admitted with a shaky voice and bend his head down to now kiss Jack’s nose. The boy squirmed a little.

“I know that feeling.” Arthur sat down on the edge of the bed, wrapping an arm around his family. John leaned into the touch and moved the boy in a way that let Arthur see him better. He gently picked the small hand, smiling when it grasped his finger tightly. “He’s so small.”

In their arms, he looked even smaller. He would grow from now on but they would never forget how tiny he once was, how he perfectly fit in their hold.

“I already can’t imagine the world without him.” John kept brushing Jack’s face gently, not wanting to wake him up, but not being able to stop himself either. Arthur was doing the same stroking the tiny hand that was grasping him as if Jack never wanted to let go. “Every morning I want to wake up and see him, hold him, make him happy and safe. Love him.”

“Yeah,” Arthur breathed shakily. He could feel that bond too, that love and protectiveness. They had a new goal in life now, new responsibilities. Surely it wouldn’t be always easy or possible to keep Jack safe and happy all the time. No doubt they would make mistakes, make Jack angry at them sometimes. But they would never make him doubt they just want the best for him, that they would always love him no matter what. They would be fathers Jack could be proud of, the ones he could love back as much as they already loved him. “Some of that will be quite hard to do so when he grows up and goes on his own but, yeah.”

John snorted softly.

“Hopefully those years will be enough to get used to the thought of letting him go one day. I’ll just chain him to me otherwise.”

Now it was Arthur who snorted, watching captivated as John kissed the boy again, letting his lips linger on Jack’s forehead. The baby cooed and then his eyes fluttered open.

“Hey, little one,” John gritted him. Jack turned his head towards him right away. “Good nap?”

Jack only answered by moving his head again and pressing it against John’s chest while gurling softly and moving his lips.

“I think he wants to eat again,” Arthur noticed, his finger still in Jack’s grab.

“Seems like it,” John agreed, amused by Jack’s tries to find the nipple. He helped their son a little and lowered him while lifting his breast to the boy’s already open mouth. “Ah!” John hissed with pain.

“He has no teeth yet, how did he hurt you?” Arthur asked confused, smiling at Jack’s eagerness to eat.

“He sucks them harder than you,” John complained, still grimacing. He looked like he wanted to pull Jack away but that wouldn’t be right so he just put his palm on the boy’s head and stroked it, trying to coax him to slow down.

“I ain’t sure how to feel being compared to a baby when my sucking isn’t that innocent,” Arthur joked, trying to pull his finger from Jack’s hold but the boy was holding surprisingly tight. “Don’t say those things around our son.”

John rolled his eyes. “He’s few hours old, he doesn’t even know what we’re talking about. Right, Jackie?” he asked the boy, who must’ve finally understood the food wasn't going anywhere because he slowed down. John smiled satisfied and glanced back at Arthur. “I like that.”

“What?”

“Our son,” he replied, a dopey smile on his face.

“Yeah.” Arthur closed the distance between them and kissed John tenderly, their son safe between them. “Sounds beautiful,” he agreed and looked down at the baby. “We did good for two outlaws, huh?”

“Very good,” he agreed affectionately. “The only thing I’ve ever made that I can be really proud of.”

Arthur couldn’t argue with him there. It was unbelievable how two violent men like them, really only knowing how to kill and rob, could make someone so beautiful and precious. Someone so innocent. They finally felt like they did something good in their lives.

“Think I can show him to the others?”

“Ain’t you a proud daddy already,” John teased, nuzzling closer into him. Arthur chuckled and didn’t deny it. He wanted to show everyone what a beautiful son he had. And he was sure the gang wanted to meet Jack too. “Sure you can, just don’t bring them here,” John asked, his eyes closing tiredly again. “I'm going to take a nap again. Hopefully he won’t need me again soon.”

“I'm sure he’ll go back to sleep too,” Arthur assured him, watching how Jack was getting sleepy. “Unless all the uncles outside won’t be too excited for him.”

“I'm sure they will. If he starts crying, you’re calming him down. He’s not my son till I have strength to take care of him more than just putting him near my breasts.”

“Sure, sweetheart,” Arthur agreed, amused and kissed the top of his mate’s head. “Go back to sleep.”

“He’s not finished yet,” John murmured, eyes already closed.

“I don’t think he minds.”

Jack didn’t. He just continued to suck till he just fell asleep with a nipple in his mouth. John was already out by that time but despite that, he was still holding their son close and didn’t make it easy to take the baby away, but Arthur finally succeeded and shushed the boy that stirred in his sleep. Jack continued sleeping when Arthur took him outside.

Cooper laid by the entrance like he was keeping guard. His tail thumped against the ground when he looked happily at his master. 

“Good boy,” Arthur said to the dog. Cooper’s tail thumped harder.

It didn’t take long for someone to notice him and Jack outside. Tilly’s face lit up when she spotted him and just dumped the shirt she was washing to get to him. Mary-Beth, who was working with her, only smiled, had already seen the baby.

“Oh my god, Arthur,” she almost squealed excitedly. A chuckle escaped Arthur when he saw her excitement. “It’s really him?”

“You think I would just hold my shirt like that?” he asked teasingly.

“Sometimes they look like that when you give them to us to wash,” she noticed with a huff, placing her hands on her hips. Others started to walk their way too, everyone curious to see the baby, even those Arthur would never suspect of being interested. “Mary-Beth told us he was beautiful.”

“He is,” Arthur admitted proudly and showed her the baby. By this point, Javier and Uncle joined as well. Tilly gasped, quickly covering her mouth to not make much sound when she noticed the boy was sleeping.

“Is this Morgan Junior?” Uncle asked, loudly as always.

“Quiet!” Tilly hissed at him. “Look how sweetly he sleeps.”

Arthur beamed with pride when everyone tried to take a look.

“I don’t know about sweet, but damn he’s small,” Javier admitted and grinned at Arthur. “And he seems healthy enough. Congrats, Amigo.”

“Thank you.” He couldn’t stop smiling when more people arrived, crowding around him.

“He can scream for something this small,” Pearson noticed, standing with Mac on Arthur's right. Dave was on the left, Tilly still the closest, in front of him, with Javier and Uncle looking over her shoulders, which wasn't hard, the girl was still young and small, not even eighteen.

“And it will only get worse,” Mac chimed in. “Davey and I once lived next to a couple with a newborn. They scream all the time.”

“Well, for now he's a very calm and good boy,” Arthur praised his son.

“You must be so proud,” Tilly pointed out.

Arthur didn’t even have heart to roll his eyes at her for saying obvious. Of course he was proud. Very proud.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, ignoring everyone around, captivated by his newborn son. “I love him so much, you have no idea.”

He didn’t care if others would laugh at him for that, it was the truth and he wasn't ashamed of that. Just like he wasn’t ashamed of his love for John. He would die for both of them if that would mean they would be safe and he would do that with a smile on his face. Hopefully he would never have to because he wanted to watch his son grow and become a man. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with John, becoming gray by his side.

“Never thought I would ever see Arthur Morgan cry,” Uncle stated and only then Arthur realized he was even crying again.

“Shut up, you old fart,” Davey snapped at him, surprising Arthur. He would sooner expect Tilly to react than one of the Callanders. “You would weep too, becoming a father does that to you. You would know if any omega would ever want you.”

“Excuse you…”

“Shut it,” Mac ordered him and grinned at Arthur. “So what’s the little guy’s name?”

“Jack,” Arthur informed with, no surprise there, pride. “Jack Marston.”

“Not Morgan?” Javier asked.

“Nah, we ain’t married and John gave birth to him so he has his Pa’s name.”

“Jack is a strong name,” Pearson noted, patting Arthur on the arm. “I'm happy for you, Alpha Morgan.”

“We all are, brother,” Mac added. Arthur smiled at all of them, happy to have such a supportive family.

“Can I hold him?” Tilly suddenly asked.

Susan appeared out of nowhere. “Absolutely not, Mrs. Jackson,” she refused before Arthur could protest as well. “The only one who can hold the baby this early after the birth is only the midwife while assisting the baby on its way from the womb. Other than that, the parents hold the baby for the first few days. It tightens the bond. The boy knows his omega father scent quite well, he needs to get used to his alpha father now. So no touching the baby”

Even if it wasn't for that, Arthur wasn’t ready to give the baby to anyone but its other father. With Jack so small, he was fearing something would happen to him if he would allow anyone hold him. It was dumb fear, he could trust Tilly and the others, holding a baby wasn’t that hard but his instincts didn’t want to listen.

And he wasn’t ready to share yet.

Tilly sighed in disappointment. “But later…”

“When we’re done being possessive, you can hold him,” Arthur promised her with a warm smile.

“I'm sure they would soon beg any of us to hold him so they didn’t have to listen to his screeching,” Susan added with a chuckle. “This boy has a good voice, Mr. Morgan. But that’s good, that means he’s healthy.”

Arthur had no idea how bad it would get from now on but he wasn’t worried. Anything would be worth it when it would come to this little guy. He was ready for sleepless nights and constant worries just as much as for all the joy the parenting was said to be bringing.

“Let’s not stand there, come to the fire,” Javier announced. “We were celebrating the birth of this niño.”

Arthur was seated down in the middle of the log. Tilly immediately sat on his right to watch the baby. Javier sat on the left and offered Arthur some whisky while others gathered around the fire, returning to their own drinks. Mary-Beth joined now too, together with Tilly cooing at the baby.

“Nah, thank you,” he refused the alcohol. He wanted to be sober to take care of Jack and John. He didn’t need alcohol to put himself in a good mood, he was already drunk with happiness.

“What a responsible daddy you are already,” Uncle joked. Unlike Arthur, he had no problem trying to suck the bottle dry. He was more committed to it than Jack to sucking the milk.

“Not everyone can spend their lives constantly drunk,” Arthur teased back before looking around. Dutch and Hosea didn’t show up yet and he was wondering why. Didn’t they want to see the baby too? They were pretty excited during pregnancy.

“How is John?” Mary-Beth asked, bringing Arthur's attention from the two leaders.

“Ah, he’s asleep, he’s still hurting and tired,” he explained, feeling a sudden tug towards his mate.

“I'm surprised he let you take the baby away from him,” Davey admitted. “Ain’t omegas really possessive of their children?”

“Maybe later,” Arthur chuckled. “So far John barely wants to have anything to do with Jack. He just wants to sleep.”

Pearson got worried. “That doesn’t sound like a good kind of father.”

“It’s alright,” Arthur assured him, rocking the baby gently when he began to move a little more than so far during sleep. “John loves him, he’s just too exhausted to really enjoy him yet.”

“He did a great job tho,” Mary-Beth noticed, keeping her chin on Tilly’s shoulder to have a better look at Jack. “It wasn’t an easy birth, he was hurt so much, he kept asking for you and wanted to give up a couple of times, saying he couldn’t do this. Susan had to slap him to put him back together.”

Arthur pressed his lips tightly together, feeling more tears threatening to fall. He should’ve been there with his mate. He knew Susan wasn't allowing that and he had nothing to say about that, but he should’ve protested more about this. No matter how disgusting the birth was, John shouldn’t have come through all this pain alone.

Next time he would be there, no matter what Grimshaw or some other housewife would say about it being inappropriate. Worse than seeing his own omega like that was leaving him to deal with the pain alone.

“I was telling Susan to let you come but she didn’t allow it,” Mary-Beth added sadly. “I can understand why, it wasn’t pretty but I don’t think you would just stare at John's bloody crotch all the time.”

Arthur snorted, some of the gang members chuckled as well. “No, I wouldn’t.”

He just wanted to be with John, show him he wasn't alone, give him some encouragement, hold his hand, anything to sooth the pain at least a little.

They chatted a little more, still no sight of Dutch or Hosea. The need to be with John in their little nest that their tent finally grew so strong Arthur couldn’t ignore it anymore. After thanking everyone for the support, Arthur said his goodbyes and headed back to his tent. Cooper was still laying by the entrance like the good boy he was and whined at Arthur.

“You keep him safe, buddy?” he asked the dog, crouching down to give him a good pat. The tongue rolled out from Coopers muzzle and he panted before his nose picked up a new scent and he tried to smell the baby. “That’s Jack. Once he’s a little older, he’s going to play with you.”

Hopefully Cooper wouldn’t be too old or even dead by then. He was already an old boy.

“Even a goddamn dog is excited about that baby,” a very cheery voice of Dutch boomed behind Arthur. The alpha grinned and stood up, looking at both his fathers.

“The miracle of birth,” Hosea chuckled. They both approached Arthur and stopped in front of him.

“I thought you were out,” Arthur admitted. “You didn’t show up early.”

“Didn’t want to interrupt others,” Hosea explained. “How is the new role treating you, Arthur?”

“I can’t complain so far.” He couldn’t help but look at his son, brushing some saliva from the corner of his lip. Every time he was looking down he was still amazed by this little baby that was his and John’s. Just theirs. “I’ve never felt so happy.”

“Last time probably when you and John mated,” Dutch noticed and took a drag of his cigar. When he blew out the smoke, he stepped closer and looked at the baby in Arthur's arms. “Doesn’t really look like any of you. You sure he’s yours?”

Arthur let out a playful growl. “Of course he’s mine,” he huffed, stroking his son's cheek. “He smells like me.”

That was the only giveaway for now but soon Jack would start growing and he would start looking like one of them or a mixture of both, and Arthur already couldn’t wait for that. He hoped the boy would have the same eyes as John.

Hosea stepped closer too and now both alphas were watching the boy. Arthur observed their reaction and grinned wide when his father's faces softened and smiles appeared on them.

“He’s beautiful, son,” Dutch admitted. Arthur was surprised hearing how it cracked. “You and John did good.”

“Thank you,” he replied shyly, blushing a little. “It wasn't really hard to make,” he joked, laughing nervously.

“Bessie would love to see this little fella,” Hosea sighed sadly. “She loved children.”

Arthur always wondered why they never made a baby of their own. Hosea never seemed like someone wanting one, yet he had no problem adopting two orphans with Dutch. He would ask but he wouldn’t want to open up old wounds, especially if it was a sensitive topic.

“His name is Jack,” Arthur revealed. “John chose the name.”

Dutch nodded with appreciation. “Good name,” he praised and looked Arthur into the eyes. “I'm proud of the two of you, son,” Dutch said, placing his hand on Arthur's shoulder. He didn’t have to talk about pride, it was visible in his eyes. “Keep this boy safe and he’ll grow to be a strong one.”

“He couldn’t ask for better fathers,” Hosea added, once again watching Jack with adoration. Arthur already knew who would teach Jack reading and writing. “With your fierce personalities, he’ll be scared of nothing.”

Arthur let out an amused huff. “He can grow to be the biggest coward, he’ll still be our son,” he promised, more to Jack and himself than to both leaders. He leaned down and placed a kiss on top of Jack’s head. “We’ll keep you safe, Jack, don’t you worry,” he whispered into the soft patch of the hair on top of the baby’s head. If Hosea and Dutch heard, he didn’t care. He was a goddamn father now and he was proud of it. “I’ll take him inside now.”

“We won’t be stopping you no more,” Dutch assured with another smile. “Congratulations again, son. You and John are fathers now.”

“Yeah,” he breathed nervously. It was still scaring him if he was being honest, but he was going to do everything in his power to give Jack the best childhood he could, better than his and John’s. “Thank you, both of you.”

“Give our best to the proud omega too,” Hosea added while walking away, towards the celebration. “Hope he’ll be back on his feet soon.”

Arthur nodded and entered the tent, closing the flaps behind himself to keep the inside dimmed and quiet, cutting them out from the celebration outside.

John was laying more on his side now, the blanket slipped from his chest to his hips. Arthur watched his body for a moment. He still looked like he was pregnant, only in the early stage, his belly hanging slightly, the skin stretched, wrinkled and with lots of red stretch marks. There was nothing left of the hard muscles that were there before the pregnancy. His breasts were still smaller than those of a feeding woman, they could fit in Arthur’s hand but they were swollen anyway, looking heavy and too full. John probably didn’t look any better between his legs but to Arthur, he still looked handsome, he was still beautiful.

All the staring woke John up. He blinked his eyes sleepily and noticed Arthur just standing there by the bed.

“What you looking at?” he asked with a smile, rubbing his tired eyes.

Arthur smiled back and sat on the chair next to a bed. “You,” he answered softly.

John's smile got smaller when he looked down at his body. He covered himself to his breast, leaving only them still visible. “Nothing pretty to watch right now,” he noticed, now smiling sadly.

“No,” Arthur agreed. He wasn’t going to lie that all of this looked beautiful because it wasn’t and John didn’t want to hear the lie. He even smiled appreciatively at Arthur, though he was still upset. He didn’t want to look like that. “But I still can’t think of you any different.”

And that wasn't a lie. And John knew that. He laughed softly, more cheerfully, hiding shyly behind his hair.

“Why thank you, that helps with my self-consciousness right now,” he admitted, putting his hair behind his ears and looking back at Arthur, his eyes full of appreciation.

There was nothing to thank him for.

“You gave birth a few hours ago, John, I wasn’t expecting you to look like Adonis.”

Susan didn’t warn them how John would look like after the birth but Arthur wasn't stupid to expect the look from before the pregnancy. They both knew there would be changes.

“Me neither but I still don’t like it,” he said with a sigh, playing with the loose strand of the blanket.

“I know.” Arthur smiled encouragingly at him and changed his seat to be back on the edge of the bed, closer to John. “You’ll get back in shape in no time.”

John returned the smile and craned his neck towards him. Arthur happily leaned down and kissed him, opening his mouth for the omega’s tongue and being careful about their son still in his hold. They purred.

“Mmm,” hummed John, separating their lips. They both licked them at the same time. “You know how to cheer me up,” he purred seductively, even though they knew anything more intimate than kisses would have to wait a few months or even longer, maybe to the first heat after birth to be really sure John's body was ready for an alpha again. “You’re done with bragging about our son?”

Arthur snorted but he couldn’t deny he was bragging. “Yeah. Tilly loves him.”

“Of course she does.”

John shifted, getting more comfortable on the bed, which with how his body was hurting wasn't easy but it still was easier than during the last months of pregnancy. Not only the belly was preventing John from fading the good position, Jack liked to kick a lot and that kept both of them awake most of the nights. It was hard to sleep next to a constantly squirming omega. Couple of times Arthur wanted to just kill his mate to get some good night sleep.

“Callanders became soft at the sight of him,” Arthur mentioned next, smiling at the memory of the delight in brothers’ eyes.

John looked up at him, shocked. “That’s surprising.”

”Everyone thinks he’s beautiful.”

It was still making him happy, even thinking about it. He wouldn’t care less if his son had a crooked nose or a hump, he would still be the most beautiful baby to him and he wouldn’t care what others would think. He would just punch them unconscious for insulting their child.

John chuckled mischievously. “They better, if they tried to say something different I would get up and kick their ass myself.”

Arthur smiled hearing that he wouldn’t be the only one being protective.

“You’re hurt,” he reminded the omega and glanced down at their son, still sleeping peacefully, curled in his father’s arms.

“Not hurt enough to not defend my son,” he decided and yawned, still clearly tired. He looked around a little confused before his eyes settled on Arthur again. “How long have you been gone?”

“Not long, I couldn’t stand being away from you,” he confessed. It was probably because of the birth, he felt the need to protect his omega.

“Come on then.” John was already laying close to one edge of the bed but he moved even more to leave some space for Arthur. “Lay down next to me. I want to cuddle with you two.”

Arthur couldn’t say no to that. He handed the baby to John so he could take off his boots and slip off the suspenders from his arms before laying down on top of the blanket, not needing it as much as John. They moved closer to each other immediately, Jack laying in the crook of John’s elbow between them, tangled in Arthur's shirt that he started to chew on in his sleep. Arthur could feel his heart flutter at the sight. He looked at John whose face was just pure love at the moment.

John looked up when he felt Arthur watching him and the love didn’t disappear when their eyes locked. Arthur couldn’t remember when was the last time he wanted to cry so much like right now.

“Hosea wishes you best recovery,” he said to the omega when he found his voice again.

“I’ll talk with everyone tomorrow, when I stop feeling like a herd of horses stomped over me.” John sighed and put his head on the pillow, not taking his eyes from his mate, the love still present in his look.

Arthur could swore he was falling even more in love with the man in front of him.

“How do you know you will feel better then?” he asked with a teasing smile. His heart was still beating like crazy and he didn’t even care anymore.

“I don’t.” John yawned again, closing his eyes. He didn’t open them back fully. “Just give me a warning before you’ll start inviting everyone in. I can handle you watching me like that but not everyone else.”

Arthur wouldn’t want anyone seeing his John like that either.

“Mary-Beth told me you asked for me when you were giving birth.”

“Yeah,” the omega confirmed and grimaced. “It hurt so much, Arthur, you have no idea.”

Arthur picked John's hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing omega’s palm gently. He couldn’t be there then but he could now.

“No, I don’t.” He would never experience similar pain. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

It wasn't his fault yet he still felt guilty. John saw that and released his hand to stroke Arthur's cheek softly.

“It’s okay.” He brought Arthur's head down and kissed him gently on the lips before they got back to their previous position. “I would be scared of Grimshaw too.” John grinned smugly when Arthur huffed. He wasn't scared of Grimshaw. But the smug expression on omega’s face vanished not long after. “She slapped me when I couldn’t go on anymore.”

Arthur controlled himself around others but now he released a low growl. “She shouldn’t have.”

John shrugged weekly. “Well, I didn’t expect her to hold my hand through this, the only person that would was outside.”

Arthur raised his hand and touched John’s cheek, the one that was slightly red. He didn’t notice it earlier and even if he did, he probably took it as something innocent. Now he knew it was the imprint of Grimshaw’s hand. He stroked the red mark softly and John closed his eyes, nuzzling into the touch. “Next time I’ll be there.”

John’s eyes blinked open and a smile reappeared on the omega’s lips. “Next time?” he repeated and snorted. “Forget it. Only if you give birth yourself.”

“Calm down, you’re in no shape for another pregnancy anyway,” Arthur reminded him, grinning in relief because John seemed to be okay despite what he had to go through.

“Maybe we’ll talk about this one day in the future.”

Arthur couldn’t hide his surprise even if he tried. And a slight excitement. The thought of going through it again, holding his baby for the first time, it was making him giddy.

“What happened to ‘our first but last’?”

“Maybe I want to give you that girl you want so much?” John suggested and Arthur’s heart started hammering at the prospect of having a daughter one day. His mate brought Arthur's hand to wrap it around his body. Grinning, Arthur gladly did so, bringing John as close as the baby between them allowed it. “We’ll see how I like parenting.”

“What’s the verdict so far?” he purred happily.

Instead of answering right away anyway, John looked down at their son, snuggled between their chests.

“I love this little fella,” he admitted, his voice shaking with emotions. “So much.”

“Yeah, me too,” Arthur added in a breathy whisper, watching the baby as well. He couldn’t express how he loved their son and he was sure John had the same problem as well. It just wasn’t possible to describe that strong, unconditional love and adoration.

When John looked up again, he had tears in his eyes. So did Arthur. “Let’s sleep before he starts showing how loud he can scream.”

“You’re gonna sleep through the first year of his life?”

“Maybe,” John replied cheekily and with a sigh, he sank into the soft bed and closed his eyes. “When he’s hungry just put him to my breast, he knows what to do next and I’ll sleep.”

Arthur chuckled and moved to kiss the top of John’s head, his fingers playing with the hair on the back of his mate’s neck.

“I love you,” he whispered, laying his head next to John’s and closing his eyes as well.

“Love you too,” John murmured back, a soft purr at the back of his throat. “Sing us something?”

“Just don’t complain when you won’t be able to sleep,” Arthur warned him.

John didn’t answer, he just nuzzled closer to him. His body was warm, so was Jack’s, the smell of the two of them surrounding Arthur like a softest blanket, the sounds of their breathing lulling him to sleep like a lullaby he was going to sing.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,” he started to sing, his voice sleepy and rough. “How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.”

He stopped there, not because he forgot the lyrics again, but because he just fell asleep, snuggled with his family.

**Author's Note:**

> It's so fun to write John as "yeah, yeah, nice baby, love it, let me sleep now". Some women I talked about admitted they loved their baby from the start but they really just wanted to rest after the birth and enjoy the baby later. Thankfully Arthur wasn't tired so he could express their love for both of them. They both won’t be so cheerful when Jack will start waking them up every few hours at night 😂
> 
> I also had to include how the body looks after the birth. It's not often mentioned in fics and I get that, the center of the plot is the joy of having a child but I felt I needed to mention it.


End file.
